Cigarette packaging

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a cigarette pack of the hinge-lid type comprising an opening ( 36 ) configured in the lower section of the front face, namely in a front wall ( 12 ) of the pack. A marking ( 38 ), applied to the inner wrapper for identifying the product, is visible through said opening.

The invention relates to a cigarette pack comprising at least twoblanks, namely an inner blank which surrounds a cigarette grouppreferably on all sides and an (outer) pack blank made of paper, (thin)cardboard or similar material, in particular for the formation of ahinge-lid pack.

Hinge-lid boxes are known by their construction and design as being themost common type of cigarette pack worldwide. A group of cigarettes asthe pack's contents is surrounded by an inner blank (inner liner) madeof paper, metal-coated paper (tin foil) or similar material to form acigarette block. The actual pack (embodied as a hinge-lid pack) consistsof (thin) cardboard forming a box part and a lid connected thereto. Inaddition, a collar made from a separate blank forms a part of this pack.The collar is anchored in the box part in the region of its front sideand side walls. A hinge-lid pack is usually surrounded by an outerwrapper made of plastic film which is removed by means of a tear-offstrip when the pack is used for the first time.

The object on which the invention is based is to achieve a furtherdevelopment in packs intended as consumer goods, especially cigarettepacks in their hinge-lid embodiment, with respect to their outer design,specifically with the aim of achieving improved means of marking oridentification.

To solve this object, the pack according to the invention ischaracterized by the following features:

-   -   a) the outer blank is provided with at least one opening in the        region of at least one pack wall,    -   b) the inner blank has at least one printed and/or embossed area        which in the finished pack lies at least partially in the region        of the opening and which is visible through said opening.

The invention is based on the knowledge that pack blanks, in particularthe typical blanks of a hinge-lid pack, are industrially pre-fabricated,also with respect to their exterior printed design, and usuallydelivered in stacks of blanks for processing in a packaging machine.

This makes it impossible to implement any further changes to the designin the region of the packaging machine or associated equipment.

In contrast, the packaging material for the inner wrapper, in particulartin foil, can be provided with a label, emblem, insignia or the like bymeans of printing or embossing in the region of the packaging machine,in particular by the appropriate embossing of the material. Thisparticular element is positioned in the region of the opening, thusremaining visible even when the pack is closed.

The opening is placed preferably in the region of a front wall of thepack, in particular at a (lower) box front wall of a hinge-lid pack,with the printed or embossed area being correspondingly located in theregion of an inner front wall of the inner blank. One special featureconsists of placing the opening in the region of an in particularenlarged collar, with the collar and box front wall having openingswhich correspond to one another, preferably with a different geometricdesign.

Further details of the inventions will be described below in more detailon the basis of exemplary embodiments featured in the illustrations,which show:

FIG. 1 a perspective view of a hinge-lid pack with open lid,

FIG. 2 another exemplary embodiment of a hinge-lid box in a viewcorresponding to FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 a spread-out pack blank for a hinge-lid box pursuant to FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 a blank for a hinge-lid box pursuant to FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 a blank for a hinge-lid pack pursuant to FIG. 2,

FIG. 6 a collar for a hinge lid box pursuant to FIG. 2,

FIG. 7 a spread-out inner blank,

FIG. 8 another exemplary embodiment of a hinge-lid box in a viewcorresponding to FIG. 1,

FIG. 9 a hinge-lid box pursuant to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 or FIG. 8 in theclosed position with an outer wrapper of plastic film.

The exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings relate to hinge-lidboxes for cigarettes. This type of pack comprises a (lower) box part 10and lid 11. The pack parts consist of a common, single-piece blankpursuant to FIG. 3. The elongate blank forms successive regions for abox front wall 12, base wall 13, box rear wall 14, lid rear wall 15, endwall 16 and lid front wall 17. Connected to the latter is a lid innertab 18, which is folded against the inner side of the lid front wall 17.Box rear wall 14 and lid rear wall 15 are connected to each other by aline hinge 19. Box side walls 20 and lid side walls 21 are comprised ofside tabs 22, 23, which overlap each other at least partially and whichare connected to each other by adhesive bonding.

A hinge-lid pack also includes a collar made from a separate blank (FIG.4, FIG. 6). The collar comprises a collar front wall 24 and lateralcollar tabs 25. The collar is positioned within the box part 10, withthe collar front wall 24 lying on the inner side of the box front wall12 and connected thereto (by adhesive bonding). An upper part of thecollar projects from the box part 10 and is surrounded by the latterwhen the lid 11 is in its closed position.

The contents of a pack, i.e. a cigarette group, is surrounded by aninner blank (FIG. 7) made of paper or tin foil, i.e. metal-coated paper.The inner blank completely surrounds the pack contents, thus forming acigarette block 26 with connecting regions of an inner front wall 27, aninner base wall 28 and an inner rear wall 29. Also present are lateralfolding tabs 30, 31 which, by means of corresponding folding and partialoverlapping, form side walls in the finished cigarette block 26.

Accordingly, end tabs 32, 33 are provided which form a folded upperinner end wall. As usual, an upper part of the inner blank is configuredon its front side as a detachable tab or flap 34. This is delimited fromthe remaining part of the inner blank by a transverse perforation line.35. The flap 34 is severed by the user's gripping of the outer end tab32 when opening the pack for the first time.

At least one pack wall is provided with an opening 36, 37. This opening36, 37 is preferably placed in the region of the box front wall 12. Theopening 36, 37 exposes a corresponding surface area of the inner blank,namely the inner front wall 27. Accordingly, this is visible from theoutside in the region of the opening 36, 37.

The openings 36, 37, which are formed by punching, can assume variousgeometric shapes, e.g. form a triangle (FIG. 1) or a circular area (FIG.2, FIG. 8). Other, even complex geometric shapes of the openings 36, 37are also suitable.

In the region of the opening 36, 37, the inner blank is provided with amarking 38. This can take the form of a label, mark or logo. But it canalso provide information or data for pack identification with respect toorigin, place and date of manufacture. For an inner blank made of tinfoil, the marking 38 is an embossing. This is preferably applied duringthe preparation of the packaging material for the inner blank, namely inthe region of embossing rollers during the usual processing of a web ofpackaging material. For this purpose, the embossing rollers can beconfigured such that a circumferential part for embossing the marking 38can be easily interchangeable in order to make a quick change in themarking 38 possible. For an inner liner of paper or similar material,the marker 38 is expediently applied by printing, likewise in the regionof the packaging machine. The marking 38 is applied such that is appearsapproximately at the center of the opening 36, 37.

The collar is adapted to the shape and position of the opening 36, 37.In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, the collar, inparticular collar front wall 24, extends to a lower region of the boxfront wall 12, namely to the base wall 13 or to the vicinity of the basewall 13. The opening 36 is completely situated in the region of thecollar front wall 24. The latter is provided with a collar opening 39.This can have the same geometric shape as the opening 36, 37.Expediently, the collar openings 39 assume a circular shape,specifically with dimensions (diameter) that are slightly smaller thanthe openings 36, 37. The collar openings 39 are positioned such that,when the specified relative position of the collar is assumed in thepack or in the box part, the collar opening 29 is situated at leastpartially, but preferably approximately centered in the region of theopening 36 or 37. The marking 38 applied to the inner wrapper isaccordingly visible from the outside through the two punched-out areas,namely the opening 36, 37 on one hand, and the collar opening 39 on theother.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, theopening 36 in the box front wall 12 is configured as a (equilateral)triangle. The collar opening 39 is configured as a circular area, inparticular concentric to the (likewise) circular-shaped marking 38 anddisposed in the lower region of the enlarged, or lengthened, collarfront wall 24 in such a manner that the collar opening 29 liescompletely and approximately centered within the opening 36.

In the exemplary embodiment pursuant to FIG. 2, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, thecollar (FIG. 6) is provided with a V-shaped protrusion 40 at the lowermarginal region of the collar front wall 24. Due to the predeterminedrelative position of the collar and its dimensions, a portion of saidprotrusion 40 projects into the opening 37 (FIG. 2). This part of thecollar, or collar front wall 24, is therefore visible in the opening 37.The relative position here has been selected so that the protrusion 40also covers a portion of the marking 28.

Another special feature is realized in the exemplary embodiment pursuantto FIG. 8, FIG. 9. Here the opening 37 is positioned in the lower regionof the box front wall 12, and in any case completely below the collarand collar front wall 24. The special feature here is that the opening37 and marking 38 are covered until the pack is used for the first time,so that the consumer discovers the marking 38 upon opening the pack andcan thereby assign its relevance to the pack. To this end, an outerwrapper 41 is provided, especially one made of plastic film. This outerwrapper 41 of transparent film commonly used for such a pack is providedin the region of the opening 37 or at least in the region of the marking38 with a cover layer 42 which hides the marking 38 from view until theouter wrapper 41 is removed. The cover layer 42 can be a layer ofcolored coating or an adhesive label attached to the inside of thewrapper.

The combination of an opening in the pack, on one hand, and a marking onthe inner wrapper, on the other hand, can also be positioned at anotherpart of the pack, e.g. in the region of the lid 11. In the embodimentpursuant to FIG. 9 with its partially masked outer wrapper 41, the coverlayer 42 is positioned in the region of the lid 11, i.e. in the regionof a film cap 43, which is severed from the outer wrapper when the packis opened for the first time with a tear-open strip 44.

The openings 36, 37 are expediently created by punching operationsduring the fabrication of the blanks, specifically in a common workcycle with the punching of the blanks themselves.

LIST OF DESIGNATIONS

-   10 box part-   11 lid-   12 box front wall-   13 base wall-   14 box rear wall-   15 lid rear wall-   16 end wall-   17 lid front wall-   18 lid inner tab-   19 line hinge-   20 box side wall-   21 lid side wall-   22 side tab-   23 side tab-   24 collar front wall-   25 collar tab-   26 cigarette block-   27 inner front wall-   28 inner base wall-   29 inner rear wall-   30 folding tab-   31 folding tab-   32 end tab-   33 end tab-   34 flap-   35 perforations line-   36 opening-   37 opening-   38 marking-   39 collar opening-   40 protrusion-   41 outer wrapper-   42 cover layer-   43 film cap-   44 tear-off strip

1-7. (canceled)
 8. A cigarette pack comprising at least two blanks,namely an inner blank which surrounds a cigarette group preferably onall sides and an outer pack blank made of paper, thin cardboard orsimilar material, characterized by the following features: a) the packblank is provided with at least one opening (36, 37) in the region of atleast one pack wall, b) the inner blank has at least one marking(38)—printing or embossing—which in the finished pack lies at leastpartially in the region of the opening (36, 37) and which is visiblethrough said opening.
 9. The cigarette pack according to claim 8,characterized in that, in a hinge-lid pack, the opening (36, 37) isdisposed in a box front wall (12), and the marking (38) is positioned onan inner front wall (27) of the inner wrapper in the region of theopening (36, 37).
 10. The pack according to claim 9, characterized inthat the opening (36, 37) is positioned at least partially in the regionof a collar front wall (24), it being the case that the collar or collarfront wall (24) has a collar opening (39), which is positioned at leastpartially in the region of the opening (36, 37) such that the innerblank or the marking (38) is visible from outside the pack.
 11. The packaccording to claim 8, characterized in that the opening (36, 37) isapplied by stamping during the manufacture of the blank.
 12. The packaccording to claim 11, characterized in that that the opening (36, 37)produced by stamping is configured in the shape of a triangle, square,rectangle or circle.
 13. The pack according to claim 10, characterizedin that a lower part of the collar or the collar front wall (24),specifically a protrusion (40), projects partially into the region ofthe opening (37).
 14. The pack according to claim 10, characterized inthat the opening (36) of the box front wall (12), the collar opening(39) and the marking (38) each have a circular-shaped contour and arearranged concentrically to one another and have different dimensions.15. The pack according to claim 8, characterized in that the opening(36, 37) and/or at least the marking (38) remain covered, and thereforenot visible from outside the pack, until the pack is used for the firsttime.
 16. The pack according to claim 15, characterized in that an outerwrapper (14) made of film, which surrounds the pack and which can bedetached when the pack is used for the first time, has a cover layer(42) in the region of the opening (36, 37).
 17. The pack according toclaim 8, characterized in that the opening (36, 37) is positioned atleast partially in the region of a collar front wall (24), it being thecase that the collar or collar front wall (24) has a collar opening(39), which is positioned at least partially in the region of theopening (36, 37) such that the inner blank or the marking (38) isvisible from outside the pack.